All A Glow Electrical are your go-to local sparkies, looking after homes, businesses, and industrial clients across the Orana Region in central and north western NSW.
From air conditioning installs to switchboard upgrades, solar, safety checks, breakdowns, and everything in between, their team prides themselves on providing top-quality service every time.
As proud NECA members, Blair and Jo Hooper jumped at the chance to take part in a free Technology Review with TradiePad, looking for a way to streamline the manual, paper-based systems they’d inherited when they took over the family business.
The Challenge
Manual and paper-based workflows
When Blair and Jo stepped into the business, the processes were, let’s just say, a bit prehistoric. Jobs were being booked on scraps of paper and in a diary, worksheets were filled out in duplicate books and carried back to the office, and invoices had to be manually entered into MYOB.
Inevitably, papers went missing, jobs were forgotten, and there was plenty of double handling. With around 50 jobs running each week, this paperwork shuffle chewed up five to ten hours of admin time and created constant headaches.
Every day we'd wake up and have a different way of doing things. It was so time consuming. We just needed one solid procedure for everything we do.
Their top priorities were clear:
- Get rid of all the paper.
- Make every job accessible to the whole team.
- Make it impossible for work to slip through the cracks.
And with staff using a mix of iPhones and Android devices, whatever system they chose had to work offline because of their remote location and be simple enough for everyone to pick up quickly.
The Solution
A Smarter, Integrated System and team training
After reviewing the business setup, workload, and future plans, TradiePad recommended two strong options for them to choose from: ServiceM8 or Ascora.
Both systems could meet the core requirements, but Ascora proved to be the best fit. Its flexible drag-and-drop scheduler offered a unique whiteboard-style view, while its strong integration with MYOB made invoicing and payments seamless.
The platform also provided customisable job statuses, checklists, and forms, along with full offline functionality for remote work, and it worked across both Apple and Android devices that their staff already used. Most importantly, Ascora allowed the team to start simple and gradually grow into the system as they became more confident and tech savvy.
From the very start there was a plan, a goal, and structure the entire way through. That’s exactly what we needed – somebody to guide the ship for us.
The Result
STREAMLINED PROCESSES AND ABILITY TO SCALE
They quickly began to notice positive changes in the business, and by the time the setup and training project with TradiePad was complete, they were already seeing excellent results.
- No more paper: “It’s the only thing we use now. We’ve got useless diaries lying around the office collecting dust. Everything we do is 99.9% in Ascora.” – Jo
- Time savings: Blair no longer spends hours each night on admin. Most of it’s done on the job.
- Clarity & consistency: Everyone knows what’s booked in weeks ahead, and there’s no confusion about jobs or parts.
- Family time back: Blair and Jo recently enjoyed a family holiday to Fiji, fully relaxed, knowing their team had everything under control back home, a break they had never imagined possible before.
- Team adoption: “The boys are using it better than I thought they would. They picked it up really quickly.” – Jo
The difference for Blair’s dad was particularly telling:
We’d usually hear from him three times a day asking what jobs he had, what parts he needed. The other week we didn’t hear from him once – he had everything he needed in the app, and just got on with the work. That was a huge turning point.
For Blair and Jo, moving to Ascora has been nothing short of a game changer. The messy paper trails are gone, admin time is slashed, and the whole team finally has one solid way of working. And when it came to working with TradiePad?
You guys are amazing! Honestly, 100% a 10. I’ve got so many people I know that you could help – I’d just about drag them there if I could!
Ready to Ditch the Paper and Get Your Business Sorted?
If your business is drowning in paperwork, lost jobs, and after-hours admin, it’s time to talk to TradiePad.
Get in touch today and we’ll help you find the right tech to get your business running smoother, faster, and stress-free.
